AWS & Aerospace - Standards

AWS & Aerospace - Standards

Did you know the AWS D17 Standards got their start in the military1?In the late 1970s, when welding specifications for the aircraft industry were in their infancy, early iterations were based on the MIL-STD-1595 “Qualification of Aircraft, Missile and Aerospace Fusion Welders.” After revisions, addition of new material considerations (aluminum, magnesium and steel), consolidation and a failed consensus to adopt the MIL-STD-2219, “Fusion Welding for Aerospace Applications,” in 1988, AWS stepped up to address the need for a commercial aerospace welding specification. In 1994, spurred on by a US Department of Defense decision to cancel many of the Military Standards, AWS began work on the AWS D17.1, Specification for Fusion Welding for Aerospace Applications. This publication would become the principal specification for the aerospace industry, and serve as the catalyst for two more aerospace specifications; one covering resistance spot welding (AWS D17.2) and the other covering friction stir welding (AWS D17.3).

So who is on the committee?D17 Committee and Subcommittee membership reads like the “who’s who” in aerospace. Names like NASA, The Boeing Company, Northrup Grumman, and GE Aviation ring a bell? These are just a few of the numerous companies represented on the distinguished panel of experts that collaborate to publish AWS D17 specifications. It takes a team of experts to create these well-rounded, industry-trusted standards, and the D17 committee is always looking for volunteers to participate in the standards development process. If you have expertise in the aerospace industry, why not find out more about the Committee's work to see if you are a fit.